Automatic rolling machine



Dec. 20, 1960 Filed NOV. 27, 1957 R. W. COX ET AL AUTOMATIC ROLLING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 RmY HQ BY R1 GHARD W. Eux

INVENTORS P u LLA 13K 46 f 172 108 104 [Kg Z 10 I i 1 Dec. 20, 1960 R. w. cox ET AL 2,964,979

AUTOMATIC ROLLING MACHINE Filed Nov. 27, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Ray I-LPDLLAEK 6;

Y RIBHARDW Box raps/Q1 Unit 2,964,979 Patented Dec. 20, 1960 2,964,979 AUTOMATIC ROLLING MACHINE Richard W. Cox and Roy H. Pollack, Lancaster, Pa.. as-

signors to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 27, 1957-, Ser. No. 699,305

6 Claims. (Cl. 80-22) This invention relates to apparatus for reducing the wall thickness of cylindrical metal parts by rolling, and particularly to a roller arrangement and a roller actuating mechanism of such apparatus.

The art of metal rolling includes 1) common reduction rolling wherein rolled portions of the work piece are placed in tension as the work piece is passed through the rollers, and (2) extrusion rolling wherein unrolled portions of the work piece are placed in compression as the work piece is passed through the rollers. The term reduction rolling, as herein used, is meant to include either of these rolling methods. For the sake of simplicity, the apparatus comprising our invention will be described as applied to common reduction rolling, but it will be appreciated that our invention is not necessarily limited to such. Application of our invention to extrusion rolling will be readily suggested to one skilled in the art.

In the prior art of reduction rolling of cylindrical parts, it is known to employ three working rollers in a delta arrangement. Since it is desirable to carry the cylindrical part to be rolled on a rotating mandrel whose axis is fixed parallel to the axes of the three working rollers and disposed to pass between the three rollers, it becomes essential that all three rollers be moveable into and out of rolling contact with the work piece passed therebetween. If this is accomplished by making all three working rollers moveable relative to a common support member, considerable difiiculty is involved in obtaining extreme accuracy of roller realignment for each successive rolling action. It is especially desirable in automatic metal rolling machinery that rugged, yet simple, mechanism be provided so as to give dependable operation as well as repeated accurate automatic realignment of the working rollers. Moreover, due to the large magnitude of the forces involved in reduction rolling of metal, it is highly desirable that a roller arrangement resulting in a balanced system of rolling forces be provided. By this is meant a system wherein the rolling work being done is evenly distributed among the three rollers and wherein the relative vectorial forces between the three working rollers are applied through a single integral member rather than between two members moveable relative to each other. In a roller arrangement involving an unbalanced system of forces, accurate uniformity between successive rolling operations is extremely difficult.

It is therefore an object of our invention to provide an improved roller arrangement and roller actuating mechanism for automatic apparatus for reduction rolling of cylindrical metal parts in which simplicity of construction and accuracy of realignment is optimized.

Briefly, according to our invention, three working rollers disposed in delta arrangement are rotatably mounted on a support member. One roller is fixed relative to the support member while the other two are moveable relative to the support member into rolling position with the fixed roller. The fixed roller is disengageable from rolling position by moving the entire support member.

Each of the two moveable working rollers are carried on one of a pair of arms pivotally mounted on the support member for arcuate movement relative to the fixed working roller, into and out of rolling engagement. The two moveable working rollers are symmetrically disposed relative to the fixed roller and to a wedge plunger which is moveable between the two pivoted arms to efiect closing engagement of the two moveable working rollers. Sliding movement of the support member to disengage the fixed working roller from rolling position is achieved by contacting a fixed stop with the free end of the wedge plunger during withdrawal of the wedge plunger from between the pivoted arms.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation view partly in section of metal rolling apparatus incorporating our invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective of a metal part suitable for rolling with the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view with parts broken away of the roller and roller actuating mechanism arrangements according to our invention; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation view partly in section of the apparatus of Fig. 3 taken along lines 4-4 of Fig. 3.

The rolling machine Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates apparatus 10 according to our invention for reduction rolling of the cylindrical wall of a metal part such as the drawn cup 11 of Fig. 2. The apparatus 10 comprises a frame which includes a lower table 12, a middle table 14, an upper table 16, and a vertical support member 18. An electric motor (not shown) and a drive mechanism 20 connected to the motor are mounted at the upper end of the vertical support member 18. A rotatablespindle 22 geared to the drive mechanism 20 extends downwardly therefrom and carries a mandrel 24 having a tapered portion 25 connecting difierent diameter portions thereof. A stripper mechanism 26 for loading and unloading cups 11 onto the mandrel 24 comprises a rotatable arm 28 which is pivotally mounted on the upper table 16 by a pin 30. A pair of retractable fingers 32 are carried on a lever arm 34 pivotally mounted at 36 on an extension of the rotatable arm 28. A finger cam 38 attached to the lever arm 34 is adapted to contact and ride along the mandrel 24. Retraction of the fingers 32 from beneath the mandrel 24 is effected by the finger cam 38 riding up on the tapered portion 25 of the mandrel 24 as the mandrel is advanced downwardly. A spring 40 urges the finger cam 38 against the mandrel 24 and the retractable fingers into position with the mandrel 24. A handle 42 is provided on the upper end of shaft 30 for manually rotating arm 28 into and out of loading position.

A pair of ways 44 attached to the upper surface of the middle table 14 serve as a bed for a roller support member or mill box 46 which houses three working rollers. The mill box 46 with its novel roller arrangement and roller actuating mechanism connected thereto comprises an important feature of our invention and will be described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4.

In operation of the rolling apparatus 10 the electric motor (not shown) and drive mechanism 20 serve to give rotational drive to the spindle 22 and mandrel 24. A first double acting piston-cylinder mechanism 48 mounted on the vertical support 18 is connected to and provides longitudinal vertical movement of the spindle 22 and mandrel 24. A second piston-cylinder mechanism 50 attached to the lower table 12 directly beneath the spindle 22 urges a bottoming plunger 52 carried thereby upwardly in response to air pressure applied to within the cylinder.

The bottoming plunger 52 is extendable upwardly through openings in the middle table 14 and the mill box 46, and into contact with the end of the mandrel 24. Thus, the bottoming plunger 52 serves to supprt a cup 11 placed on the mandrel 24 during a rolling operation. A third double-acting piston-cylinder mechanism 54 (Fig. 3) serves to actuate the roller mechanism contained within the mill box 46.

The mill box and roller mechanism Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the double acting pistoncylinder mechanism 54 is mounted on the mill box 46 by a pair of brackets 70. Within the mill box 46 is a fixed working roller 72 and two moveable working rollers 74 and 76. The fixed working roller 72 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 77 in a yoke 78. The yoke 78 is attached to a shaft 80 which is slidably mounted in an embossment 81 on one end of the mill box 46. A screw adjustment mechanism 82 is provided in co-operation with shaft 80 for adjusting the position of the fixed working roller 72 along the longitudinal axis of the shaft 80.

The two moveable working rollers 74 and 76 are symmetrically mounted with respect to, and in delta arrangement with, the fixed working roller 72. The mounting mechanisms for the two moveable working rollers 74 and 76 are similar to each other and respectively include shafts 84 and 85 for rotatably supporting the working rollers 74 and 76 in yokes 86 and 87 of moveable arms 88 and 89. The arms 88 and 89 are pivotally mounted within the mill box 46 on pins 90 and 91. A pair of opposed cam rollers 92 and 93 are rotatably mounted at the ends of the arms 88 and 89 remote from the working rollers 74 and 76. A pair of springs 94 and 95 bear against the outer surfaces of the arms 88 and 89 and urge the cam rollers 92 and 93 toward each other. Spring retainer members 96 and 97 are provided for holding the springs 94 and 95 in place. The retainer members 96 and 97 also serve as safety stops to prevent the working rollers 74 and 76 from striking each other during set-up of a rolling operation.

An elongated wedge plunger 102 having a pointed nose 103 is slidably mounted in an embossment 104 on the end of the mill box 46 opposite the embossment 81. The wedge plunger 102 is adapted for sliding movement along the longitudinal axis of the shaft 80 between the cam rollers 92 and 93 to effect a spreading of the cam rollers 92 and 93 and a closing of the working rol1ers74 and 76.

A linkage lever 106 is pivotally mounted in a yoke 108 on the end of the wedge plunger 102 external of the mill box 46 by a pivot pin 109. The other endof the linkage lever 106 is pivotally mounted on the free end of a piston rod 110 of the double acting piston-cylinder mechanism 54 by a pivot pin 112. The mounting. apertures in the linkage lever 106 for pins 109 and 112 are elongated so as to permit operable movement of the linkage lever mechanism. A bracket 114 fixed to the same end of'the' mill box 46 as embossment 104 carries a pin 116 pivotally connected to the leakage lever 106 intermediate the ends thereof.

The movement of the mill box in response to operation of the piston-cylinder mechanism 54 is limited to a rectilinear motion along the ways 44 between three fixed stops. A spring 122 extending between. a first fixed Stop 124 and the end of the mill box at which the fixed roller 72vis mounted, urges the mill box along its ways 44 against a second fixed stop 126. The-second stop 126 includes an adjustment screw I28 and a lock nut 1 30. A

third fixed stop 132 is positioned in line with the wedge plunger 102 and is adapted for contacting the external end 134 thereof. Stop 132 serves'to co-operate' with the wedge plunger 102 to move the entire mill box 46 along its ways 44 to free the fixed working roller 72 from 3 rolled work piece.

Operation of the roller mechanism In the performance of a rolling operation, a cup 11 is positioned on the mandrel 24. between the three rollers 72, 74, and 76 and advanced parallel to the axes of these rollers. Figs. 3 and 4 show the mill box 46 with its rollers 72, 74, and 76 in position for rolling action. To disengage the rollers from the work piece, the wedge plunger 102 is withdrawn from between the cam rollers 92 and 93 thus permitting the springs 94 and to urge the cam rollers 92 and 93 toward each other and spread the moveable rollers 74 and 76 apart and away from the work piece. The fixed roller 72 is then freed from the work piece by shifting the entire mill box 46 away from stop 126 and toward stop 124 against the force of spring 122. These actions are achieved in the following manner.

The double acting piston-cylinder mechanism 54 is energized to move the piston into its cylinder. With the mill box stationary during this portion of the action the linkage lever 106 rotates clockwise, as illustrated, about the stationary pivot pin 116. In response to a clockwise rotation of linkage lever 106, a force is exerted on pin 109 causing. the wedge plunger 102 to be withdrawn from between the cam rollers 92 and 93 and toward the fixed stop 132. When the end surface 134 of the wedge plunger 102 contacts the fixed stop 132, continued retraction of the piston 110 into its cylinder causes the linkage lever 106 to now rotate about the pivot pin 109, which is now stationary, and apply a force on pin 116. This force causes the entire mill box 46 to be moved away from fixed stop 126 and toward fixed stop 124 against the force of spring 122. As hereinbefore stated, such movement of the mill box will serve to free the fixed roller 72 from the work piece which is carried by the mandrel 24. As such, all three rollers 72, 74, and 76 are freed from the work piece.

To engage a second work piece with the rollers 72, 74, and 76 for rolling action, the fixed roller 72 must first be moved toward the stop 126 so as to contact the work piece, and then the two moveable rollers 74 and 76 closed thereupon. Such action is the reverse of that hereinbefore-described for opening the rollers and involves the following movements.

The double-acting piston-cylinder mechanism 54 is energized to expel the piston 110 from its cylinder. As the piston 110 begins to move out of its cylinder, the linkage lever 106 rotates counter-clockwise about the pivot pin 109 releasing the force previously applied to pin 116. During this portion of the action the pin 109 is stationary by virtue of the wedge plunger being pressed into contact with the fixed stop 132. This permits the entire mill box 46 to move toward, and into contact with, stop 126 and away from stop 124 in response to the force of spring 122. After the mill box 46 has contacted the fixed stop 126, continued expulsion of piston 110 from its cylinder causes the linkage lever 106 to continue counter-clockwise rotation, but about the now stationary pivot pin 116. This results in a force being applied to pin 109' causing the wedge plunger 102 to be advanced between the cam rollers 92 and 93 thus closing the moveable rollers 74 and 76 onto the work piece. At this point it is essential that the adjustment screw 128 of the fixed stop 126 be accurately positioned in order that the mandrel 24 pass centrally between the three working rollers. Only inthis way will a balanced rolling system be achieved.

The degree to which the rollers 72, 74, and 76 are closed upon the work piece is determined by the width of the wedge plunger. 1'02 positioned between the cam rollers 92 and 93. As'can be seen from Fig. 3, the only force applied to the roller mechanism is that effected by a spreading of the cam rollers 92 and 93 by the wedge plunger 102. With the moveable working rollers 74 and 76 once in rolling position, in itself a balanced, opposed 5 pair of vectorial fo'rcesresults which has no longitlldiual 'eempoaem along thewe dge plunger 102 that would be transmitted to parts moveable relative to the mill box 46; Due to a spreading of the cam rollers 92 and 93 and a closing of the moveable rollers 74 and 76 onto the work piece, the fixed roller 72 is automatically urged toward and into the work piece. The forces now existing between each of the rollers 72, 74, and 76 against the work piece can be seen to constitute a balanced system of forces as hereinbefore defined since their relation to one another exists only as tension in the walls of the mill box between pivot pins 90, 91 and the mounting of the shaft 80. By virtue of such a balanced system of forces, extremely accurate and uniform realignment of the rollers 72, 74, and 76 can be achieved during successive rolling operations.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for reducing the wall thickness of a cylindrical metal part comprising a frame, a support member .slidably moveable relative to said frame, three metalworking rollers rotatably mounted on said support member with their axes disposed substantially parallel, one of said rollers having its axis fixed relative to said support :member, the other two rollers having their axes moveable :relative to said support member into and out of a predetermined delta arrangement with the axis of said fixed roller, power transfer means connected to said other two rollers, a lever connected to said means and to said support member at portions of said lever spaced longitudinally thereof, said support member and said means being responsive to different angular movements of said lever for moving said rollers into and out of said delta arrangement.

2. Apparatus for reducing the wall thickness of a cylindrical metal part comprising a table having a pair of ways fixed thereto, a support member slidable along said ways, a first metal-working roller rotatably mounted on said support member on an axis fixed relative to said support member, second and third metal-working rollers rotatably mounted on arms, said arms being symmetrically disposed relative to said first roller and pivotally mounted to said support member, said second and third rollers being adapted for arcuate movement into and out of a predetermined delta arrangement with said first roller, a wedge plunger positioned between said arms and movable longitudinally in one direction for moving said second and third roller into said delta arrangement, said support member being movable in the opposite direction for moving said first roller into said delta arrangement, a link connected to said wedge plunger and said support member at longitudinally spaced portions of said link, and means for rotating said link on an axis transverse thereto, whereby movements in opposite directions are imparted to said wedge plunger and said support member, for moving said first, second and third rollers into said delta arrangement.

3. Apparatus for reducing the wall thickness of a cylindrical metal part comprising a table having a pair of ways fixed thereto, a pair of limit stops fixed relative to said table and spaced along said ways, a support member disposed between said limit stops and slidable along said ways in opposite directions to engage said limit stops, a first metal-working roller rotatably mounted on said support member on an axis fixed relative to said support member, second and third metal-working rollers rotatably mounted on arms, said arms being symmetrically disposed relative to said first roller and pivotally mounted on said support member, said second and third rollers being adapted for arcuate movement into and out of a predetermined delta arrangement with said first roller, means for effecting said arcuate movement of said second and third rollers, and slidable movement of said support member, comprising a wedge plunger slidable in said opposite directions between said arms, a piston-cylinder mechanism, and a linkage connecting said piston with said wedge plunger and said support member, said linkage having a structure for simultaneously sliding said support member in one of said opposite directions and moving said wedge plunger in the other of said opposite directions, for effectsupport member on an axis fixed ing movement of said first, second, and third rollers into and out of said delta arrangement.

4. Apparatusfor reducing the wall thickness of a cylindrical metal part comprising a table having a pair of ways fixed thereto, a pair of limit stops fixed relative to said table and spaced along said ways, a support member disposed between said limit stops and slidable along'said ways to engage successively said limit stops, one of said limit stops being spring loaded to urge said support member along said ways into contact with the other of said limit stops, a first metal-working roller rotatably mounted on said support member on an axis fixed relative to said support member perpendicular to said ways, second and third metal-Working rollers rotatably mounted on arms, said arms being symmetrically disposed relative to said first roller and pivotally mounted on said support member, said second and third rollers being mounted for arcuate movement and said support member for recti-' linear movement, whereby said first roller is movable rectilinearly with said support member, said movements of said first, second, and third rollers disposing said rollers into and out of a predetermined delta arrangement, means for effecting said arcuate movement and said rectilinear movement, comprising a wedge plunger slidable between said arms, a piston-cylinder mechanism, and a linkage connecting said piston with said wedge plunger and said support member, and a positioning stop fixed relative to said table for co-operation with said wedge plunger to effect slidable movement of said support member along said ways.

5 Apparatus for reducing the wall thickness of a cylindrical metal part comprising a table having a pair of ways fixed thereto, a pair of limit stops fixed relative to said table and spaced along said ways, a support member disposed between said limit stops and slidable along said ways to engage saz'd limit stops, one of said limit stops being spring loaded to urge said support member along said ways into contact with the other or said limit stops, a first metal-working roller rotatably mounted on said relative to said support member, second and third metalworking rollers rotatably mounted on arms, said arms and said second and third rollers being symmetrically disposed relative to said first roller and pivotally mounted on said support member,

said second and third rollers being adapted for arcuate movement into and out of a predetermined delta arrangement with said first roller, means for effecting said arcuate movement comprising a wedge plunger slidable between said arms, a piston-cylinder mechanism, and a linkage connecting said piston with said wedge plunger; and a positioning stop fixed relative to said table for co-operation with said wedge plunger to elfect slidable movement of said support member along said ways, said positioning stop being disposed in alignment with said wedge plunger for contacting the end of said wedge plunger; and a pin mounted to said support member and pivotally connected to said linkage intermediate the ends thereof, whereby a movement of said piston causes said linkage to first move said plunger into contact with said positioning stop and then to move said support member along its ways away from said positioning stop.

6. Metal rolling apparatus for reducing the wall thickness of a cylindrical metal part comprising a frame ineluding a vertical support member and a table, a motor and drive mechanism mounted on said support member, a spindle extending from and rotatably connected to said drive mechanism, a mandrel connected to the extending end of said spindle, a piston-cylindrical mechanism mounted on said vertical support member for longitudinally advancing the spindle and mandrel, a pair of parallel ways fixed to said table, a pair of limit stops fixed relative to said table and spaced along said ways, a support member disposed between said limit stops and slida es-aria ablea qna s id y t ensa aid limit stops ne at a d. limit stop bein sp in loaded o rge s id support nernber along said ways into contact with the other of said limit stops, at first metal-Working rollerrotatably mounted on said support member on an axis fixedrelative to: sai p t m mb r, s ond a i d a o in rollers rotatably mounted on arms, said arms and said second and third rollers being symmetrically disposed: relative to said first roller and pivotally mounted on said support member, said second and third rollers being adapted to arcuate movement into and out of a predetermined delta arrangement with said first'roller, means for efieeting said arcuate movement comprising a wedge plunger slidable between said arms, a piston-cylinder mechanism, and a linkage connecting said piston with said wedge plunger; and a positioning stop fixed relative to said table for co-operation with said wedge plunger to effect slidable movement of said support member along said ways, said positioning stop being disposed in alignment witl said wedge plunger for contacting the end of said \vc geplunger; and a ninm med to. s d supp z mem- 7 References Cited in the file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,414,668 Reed May 2, 1922 1,528,672 Leipert Mar. 3, 1925 1,675,182 Lilleberg June 26, 1928 1,721,729 Davenport July 23, 1929. 2,218,574 Gould Oct. 22, 1940 2,294,685 Nelson Sept. 1, 1942 2,581,876 Parker Ian. 1952 2,588,651 Nelson Mar. 11, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 830,756 Germany t Feb. 7, 195 2v 

